Cill Dara Shinn Féin Poblachtach

We the Republican POWs incarcerated in Maghaberry concentration camp, Co Antrim, would like to take this opportunity on this the 95th anniversary of the Easter rising to send greeting to our comrades in Portlaoise gaol and in Republican Sinn Féin / Sinn Féin Poblachtach. We would also like to pay tribute to the leadership and Volunteers of the ContinuityIRA for your continued fight against the British forces of occupation.

This year also marks the 30th anniversary of the hunger strikes and 30 years on we still find ourselves once again in a struggle for the restoration of political status - a status that our gallant comrades in the H-blocks and Armagh gaol fought and died for. At present tensions are running high in the gaol. Like our comrades in 1981 we find that a deal brokered between ourselves and the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) and in the prison, the agreement is not being implemented. On August 12 an agreement was reached after a protracted protest. A fundamental part of this agreement was to see a total end to the degrading practice of strip searching. Despite this strip searching is still being practiced in the gaol and this is April 2011. So far we have refused to comply with these searches and as a result we are being forcibly striped by the jails riot squad. We the POWs will not stand by and let the NIO and the Brits renege on the agreement - it needs to be implemented in full or we will be forced to take more action.

This year also marks the 40th anniversary of the ÉIRE NUA programme along with SAOL NUA to provide a way forward for all the Irish people. We must liberate the Irish people and establish a democratic system based on justice and equality, to build ÉIRE NUA – a New Ireland for the people of Ireland. The ideal proclaimed by the leaders of the 1916 Rising still inspires those who today (in 2011) continue the armed struggle for a 32-County All-Ireland Republic that was proclaimed on Easter week by the 1916 leaders. We Irish Republicans today need to continue the struggle for freedom and not allow the deaths of all those who gave their lives for Irish freedom to be in vain.We must fight on defiantly and pledge our allegiance to the all Ireland Republic; we must carry on the armed struggle until the British leave our country, there can be no compromise whatsoever.

After all we didn’t invite the British they came by force of arms many hundreds of years ago and they are still here. This is not acceptable they are still occupying our country as said by Patrick Pearse “while Ireland holds these graves Ireland unfree shall never be at peace”. The British remain here with a presence of force, we the people of Ireland will always resist their presence in Ireland until we gain a united Ireland and the occupation of British rule in Ireland has been removed. We will not tolerate their presence on our land and so we will continue our resistance campaign of arms until the British leaveIreland.

There will be no compromise where the British are concerned we will not stop until there is a total withdraw of British rule from Ireland. “In matters of principle there can be no compromise” as said by Terence Mc Swiney.